On multiplayer...
I have Kingdom Hearts 2 sitting in front of me, as well as Twilight Princess...and what have I done with my time off? I have played Rainbow Six Vegas and Marvel Ultimate Alliance, with a smidgen of World of Warcraft here and there. Why? Why have I set aside a few of the greatest games of 2006 for these two games that are arguably significantly less polished and held in lower regard? It's easy really. They are multiplayer games. I have a hard time justifying even jumping into the world of Hyrule (as scrumptrulescent as it might be) right now when my friends are all on Xbox Live having a good time together.
An industry exec said earlier this year that single player games were like masterbation and multiplayer games were like having sex. In some ways, I can relate to this, in others...what the hell was he smoking? Of course, when you take it to the extremes of each all signs of potential factuality immediately become null, but that happens oh so often, so let us think about it in its most basis of forms. Let's say you have two games of equal quality, for argumentive purposes let's say they are reviewed equally, one multiplayer and the other single player. As a self-described hard-assed videogame critic I like to think that I am beyond such barbaric methods of product evaluation, considering our medium and the differences of product I also like to feel that we are above and beyond the other entertainment mediums but I'm getting ahead of myself here. Anyway, let's also say that not only were these two products (consumerism tells us to call them products but the artist in me says to call them creations or...something) are both in the same genre, let's say they were in the style of elder scrolls and in medieval times. Now, which one do you think would sell more? The single player game or the multiplayer game? Of course there are many factors that are involved here that almost completely negate this argument but like I said earlier, essentially what are people more drawn to? The multiplayer portion. With that in mind, how long will it be until we see these legendary game series incorporate some kind of multiplayer aspect into the campaign mode?
I do not doubt the level of desire the public has for single player experiences, as I proudly claim that I myself partake in these seemingly old-fashioned nigh-neanderthal methods of enjoyment, but how much longer will they hold such a large marketshare?
Thinking even further down the line, if people start to spend more and more time with multiplayer games that require considerable investments of time, how long will it be before the market is considerably one sided, so much to the point that the point of entry for the competition is set to unreachable heights? Also, if the company that is the leader and is constantly evolving their product, can it necessarily be considered bad? I think it goes without saying that the product I speak of here is World of Warcraft.
Anyway, sorry for the deep ramblings.
I'm tired and I have some comics to read.
Goodnight.
An industry exec said earlier this year that single player games were like masterbation and multiplayer games were like having sex. In some ways, I can relate to this, in others...what the hell was he smoking? Of course, when you take it to the extremes of each all signs of potential factuality immediately become null, but that happens oh so often, so let us think about it in its most basis of forms. Let's say you have two games of equal quality, for argumentive purposes let's say they are reviewed equally, one multiplayer and the other single player. As a self-described hard-assed videogame critic I like to think that I am beyond such barbaric methods of product evaluation, considering our medium and the differences of product I also like to feel that we are above and beyond the other entertainment mediums but I'm getting ahead of myself here. Anyway, let's also say that not only were these two products (consumerism tells us to call them products but the artist in me says to call them creations or...something) are both in the same genre, let's say they were in the style of elder scrolls and in medieval times. Now, which one do you think would sell more? The single player game or the multiplayer game? Of course there are many factors that are involved here that almost completely negate this argument but like I said earlier, essentially what are people more drawn to? The multiplayer portion. With that in mind, how long will it be until we see these legendary game series incorporate some kind of multiplayer aspect into the campaign mode?
I do not doubt the level of desire the public has for single player experiences, as I proudly claim that I myself partake in these seemingly old-fashioned nigh-neanderthal methods of enjoyment, but how much longer will they hold such a large marketshare?
Thinking even further down the line, if people start to spend more and more time with multiplayer games that require considerable investments of time, how long will it be before the market is considerably one sided, so much to the point that the point of entry for the competition is set to unreachable heights? Also, if the company that is the leader and is constantly evolving their product, can it necessarily be considered bad? I think it goes without saying that the product I speak of here is World of Warcraft.
Anyway, sorry for the deep ramblings.
I'm tired and I have some comics to read.
Goodnight.
posted by Coyotegrey at 1:17 PM
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